Obama's gray area

December 23, 2008|By Chicago Tribune

President-elect Obama is looking more and more presidential every day -- that's if you count the gray hairs.

Many American presidents have transformed while they were in office from fresh-faced, energetic men with heads full of dark hair to gray-haired, aged versions of their former selves. Obama -- not even in the White House yet -- is sporting salt-and-pepper hair that lately has a lot more salt.

The assumption may be that the stress of the campaign trail and the transition -- not to mention the weight of the country's problems on his shoulders -- could have something to do with it. But does stress really cause gray hair?

It depends, said Dr. Heather Wickless, an assistant professor of dermatology at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine.

"Graying is poorly understood," she said.

"Some people go gray at a young age, so there is some genetics involved."

But some research shows that stress can damage melanocytes, or hair cells. The damaged cells then have trouble producing pigment, which keeps hair its original color, Wickless said. When the pigment disappears, the hair turns white, gray or silver, she said.

Diet and smoking can eventually affect hair color too, Wickless said. Obama, who has smoked in the past, has said he's been trying to the kick the habit but admitted earlier this month that he's sneaked a few puffs.

And Obama, 47, like other presidents before him, is at the age that men typically start graying, Wickless said.

"Most men go gray in their mid-40s and continue graying into their 50s," she said.

"It could be the age group we are looking at. But I'm sure the stress of the presidency doesn't help matters."